TeachMate 🎓🌍

TeachMate is a comprehensive Language Learning Platform that connects students with mentors and leverages advanced AI to accelerate language acquisition. It features real-time communication, WebRTC video calls, an AI-powered tutor using a custom Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline, and tools designed specifically for language exchange.

🚀 Key Features

🌟 Core Communication

• Real-time Chat: Zero-latency messaging using Socket.IO.
• Video Calls: Integrated peer-to-peer WebRTC video calling for face-to-face practice directly in the browser.
• Synchronized Utilities: Shared language timers (e.g., 10 mins English, 10 mins Spanish) that sync perfectly across both users' screens.

🧠 Advanced AI Tutor (RAG Pipeline)

• Personalized Context: Built a custom Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline from scratch.
• Vector Embeddings: User vocabulary is converted into 3072-dimensional vectors using Google's gemini-embedding-001 and stored natively in MongoDB.
• Cosine Similarity Math: When a user chats with the AI, the backend calculates cosine similarity in-memory to inject the student's actual saved vocabulary into the AI context, forcing the AI to reinforce those specific words.
• Dynamic Model Resolution: Fault-tolerant API configuration that dynamically selects the healthiest Gemini model at runtime.

👥 Mentorship & Roles

• Student & Mentor Roles: Sign up as a learner or an expert tutor.
• Find Mentors: Browse mentor profiles, check hourly rates, and filter by skills.
• Profile Management: Mentors can customize their bio, rates, and target languages.

🛠️ Language Tools

• Topic Roulette 🎲: Stuck in a conversation? Roll the dice for a random bilingual discussion topic.
• Vocabulary Notebook 📖: Save words directly from chat to your personal vocabulary list, which automatically trains your AI Tutor.

💻 Tech Stack

• Frontend: React 19, Vite, TailwindCSS, DaisyUI, Zustand (State Management).
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose.
• Real-time Engine: Socket.IO (Signaling & Chat), simple-peer (WebRTC).
• AI Architecture: Google Gemini API, Custom Vector Search Algorithm.
• Authentication: JWT & HTTP-Only Cookies, bcrypt password hashing.

🛠️ Installation & Setup (Development)

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/AgamPandey133/Teachmate.git
   cd Teachmate

2. Setup Backend

   cd backend
   npm install
   npm run dev

3. Setup Frontend

   cd frontend
   npm install
   npm run dev

🚀 Deployment (Production)

The project is pre-configured for zero-config deployment on platforms like Render or Railway.

To run the optimized production build locally:

# In the root Teachmate directory
npm run build
npm start

The Express server will automatically serve the static React bundle from frontend/dist.

🔒 Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the backend folder with the following keys:

PORT=5001
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_google_gemini_key

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.